


Insufficient Title (Honestly, My Brain Is Fried)

by DarkenedHeart



Series: If We Were Twins [3]
Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: (But it's fiction - So that's okay), (I hope), (Ish) - Freeform, (That last Tag hurt my brain to read.), AU, Alternate Universe - TWINS!, Awesome!Jack, Brotherly Love, Brothers, CSI/MacGyver (TV 2016) Crossover!, Case Fic, CoolUnderFire!Nick, Crossover!, Friendship, Fun, Gangsters, Gen, Jack abuses Nicknames, Jack and Nick are Twins, Jack is a Spy, Much to his brother's dismay, NO CANON PLACEMENT!!!, Nick does a MacGyver, Nick is a CSI, Possibly OOC, Riley will never let Jack live this down., She holds grudges., Some Team Members Meet The Other Team Members, Spoiler Tags!, The writer has melted their brain..., Twins, finding out, friends - Freeform, my tags make me laugh, please send help.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 21:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8549374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkenedHeart/pseuds/DarkenedHeart
Summary: When a mission brings the Phoenix team to Las Vegas, Nevada, they learn a little bit more about one of their own.The CSI team were close. As close as a family. So when a man with Nick's face comes strolling into the crime lab, more than one person is confused.***I couldn't come up with anything clever for the Title. I'll have to come back to it later...***





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so we're gonna half to 'play' with the Time Line a little...  
> This is around season 8 of CSI, but just the first season for MacGyver 2016. (Because that's all there is right now.)  
> I wanted Warrick to be alive (Spoiler!) and -just to warn you- a few things might be amiss. Just ignore them. (I'm no saying they 'will' be, I'm just saying they 'might' be.)  
> I also wanted to have Nick with the shaved head look just so that Jack could tease him about it. (Because I'm evil like that.)  
> Grr... AND, Catherine's Dad isn't dead yet either. (Spoiler x2!)

"Last night a message was intercepted that a crime war between two mob families is soon to break out over a disappearance of one of the family head's daughters going missing." Thornton directs the team's attention to the screen where the mob leaders' faces were displayed. A photo of a young girl, about sixteen years old, sits smiling in the center. "Luciella DuChenka, daughter of Lucille DuChenka. She went missing two days ago. The Motelle family is being blamed."

"I take it these crime bosses have been looking for a reason to start a fight?" Mac assumes as he snatches up a paper clip out of the bowl.

"There is a long history of minor disagreements," the team leader nods. "None of them will remotely compare to the bloodshed that will occur if Luciella isn't found."

"Where is this all supposed to go down?" Riley asks.

"Las Vegas, Nevada."

"Sin City," the techie grins. "Do you think we could get in a few games or a show after we save the day?"

"Are the local cops involved in the case?" Jack asks before his teammate can get an answer.

"The disappearance was looked into by the local authorities, but they have nothing to go on," Thornton answers. She looks at the agent carefully, "You look a little worried there, Dalton. Something you want to share with us?"

"Uh, well, Patty," Jack nervously rubs at the back of his neck, earning concerned glances from his fellow teammates. "Yer all gonna laugh when I tell you."

"Tell us what, Jack?" Mac's concern rises as his friend avoids eye contact.

"Wait, let me guess," Riley smiles as she points to the man. "You have a gambling record there and are banned from the casinos. Am I right?"

"That's not it," the man looks anywhere else but at his teammates. "But before I tell you, I need you to promise this stays between us."

The three other members exchange mirrored looks of worry before turning their focus back to their teammate.

"Anything you say here will be kept solely between us," Mac promises him.

"Absolutely," Riley nods. 

"Of course," Thornton adds.

"Okay, then," Jack makes eye contact with each of them in turn, ending with Mac. "I have a brother who lives in Las Vegas."

"That's it?" Riley breathes out in relief. "I was worried you were gonna tell us you were a hitman or something like that."

"Story for another day maybe," Jack jokes, then he bites his bottom lip before adding. "He's sort of my twin and works as a CSI."

The rooms falls silent.

"Wait," Riley finds her voice first. "so you're telling me that there are TWO of you running around?" 

"Yeah, pretty much," Jack shrugs. He looks at his teammates. "What? You can't tell me there's nothing you guys haven't told me either."

"Maybe I neglected to tell you my favorite color," Riley stands and approaches the man, Jack gets up to step away from her. "But another person walking around with my face? No. I didn't keep that sort of thing from you."

"Would be hard," Jack shrugs again. "I'd figure it out pretty quick."

"Why you-" Riley moves to strangle the man, but Mac blocks her.

"We can discuss Jack's lack of open discussion about his family later," the blonde looks to his friend to let him know that they were definitely going to 'talk' later. Jack swallows nervously.

Thornton clears her throat, effectively taking back control of the room. She looks to her operative, "How did you manage to keep this under wraps, Dalton?"

"It wasn't easy," Jack lets out a nervous laugh, then swallows the rest of it down quickly. "We don't have the same last name and I never gave my real family history when I signed up for this gig. My backstory is made up and based off of 'The Cisco Kid' comic books."

"Clever," Thornton sounds impressed. 

"What on earth is The Cisco Kid?" Riley demands to know.

"We don't have time for this right now," Mac speaks up as Jack opens his mouth to answer. "A mob war is about to start, so we don't have much time. I say we talk about this on the flight over. Agreed?"

"Do we have to talk about it?" Jack asks quietly.

Three voices answer in unison, "Yes."

"Okay...Just asking..."

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

Nick is hunched over a microscope, trying to identify the piece of evidence he was examining, when Warrick starts pushing on his shoulder.

"Uh....Nick?"

"What is it, Warrick?" Nick asks, eyes still on his task.

"Why is there a guy with your face walking towards us?"

"What?" the CSI lifts his face up and, sure enough, he sees his twin walking towards him and his friend. "Why is he....?"

Nick steps away from the microscope to meet his brother at the doorway.

"Jack?" he smiles at his brother. "What? What are you doing here? Why didn't you call to say you were coming?"

"And spoil the surprise?" Jack laughs, pulling his twin in for a hug. "Man, I missed you! And what's with your hair?" he pulls back to run a hand over his brother's head. "Bald? Really?"

"It's been shaved, Jack," Nick defends his hairstyle choice. He looks over to the two people standing in shock behind his twin. "I take it you never told your team about me?"

"You're one to talk," Warrick grumbles from behind him, arms crossed over his chest as he leans against the doorway. "Why wasn't I informed that you had a double?"

"You know, I don't think that 'hey, do you have a twin?' is a regular subject in most conversations," Jack points out. He offers the darker skinned man his hand, "I'm Jack, nice to meet you."

"Warrick," the CSI shakes quickly then lets go. He nods his head to the agent's friends who are just recovering from their shock. "That your team? You guys cops? Feds?"

"Oh, we're," Jack smiles back at Riley and Mac, offering them a wink. "We're a little bit of everything." he turns back to the CSI, "Internal Affairs, actually. Gotta take my little brother in for questioning."

"What?" Warrick pushes off the doorway in surprise. "Nick hasn't done anything wrong."

"Of course not," Jack keeps on smiling. "Which is why we're here. He's going to help catch the ones who did."

"I'm working on a case right now, Jack," Nick points out. "I can't just up and leave."

"You won't be," Grissom steps towards the group gathered in the hallway. He nods to Jack in greeting before turning to his guys. "Warrick will take over for you. You need to work with your brother on this."

"You knew about this guy?" Warrick jerks his thumbs towards Jack. 

"Oh, Grisly Bear and I go way back," Jack says, patting the man on the back once before stepping away to a safe distance. "I rely on him and Momma Bear to watch over my baby brother when I'm working abroad."

Warrick narrows his eyes at the man, "I thought you said you were IA."

"By abroad, I mean out of state."

"Listen, guys," Grissom speaks up again. "You're taking up the hallway and attracting attention that should be used to solve cases. Now, Nick, Warrick, you have your assignments. Please get to work."

"Yes, sir," Nick nods to the man. Warrick answers with several silent nods.

\--- 

After Nick signs the right papers to turn things over to Warrick, he follows his brother and his two teammates out of the building.

"Riley," the woman of Jack's team reaches forwards to shake Nick's hand as they head for the parking lot. "I'm going to enjoy pulling embarrassing stories of Jack's childhood out of you."

"Most of those stories involve me, so," Nick shrugs. "Not sure how many you'll end up getting." He looks over to the blonde yet to be introduced. "How long have you been working with my brother?"

"Not long enough," the blonde answers with a frustrated tone tainting his words. Nick smirks as his brother cringes. "He never mentioned a brother. Let alone a twin."

"They were under the assumption that I was some lonely, only child living out of a trailer park," Jack explains in a fake hushed voice. "It was such a heart wrenching moment to dissuade their thoughts of grandeur concerning how much attention they give me. I think they thought I was the resident lost puppy case."

Riley barks out a laugh.

Nick leans closer to whisper to his brother, "Is that the kid?"

It isn't quite low enough for the two not to hear.

"So you told your brother about us but not us about your brother?" Riley demands to know as she stops right in front of their vehicle.

"You told him I was a kid?"

"Look at you, man!" Jack motions up and down over the younger agent's body. "You look like a kid to me! And this was back when we first met. You were definitely a kid back then."

"He calls me 'little brother' even though he was only born fourteen seconds earlier," Nick tells them. "Trust me when I tell you, 'kid' is Jack being nice." He looks to Riley, "He must have dated your mom not to be calling you 'chick' or 'babe'."

Jack clamps a hand over his brother's mouth as he laughs nervously to his teammate's glares.

"You are SO going to pay for this, Jack," Riley warns the man with a finger in his face.

"Ditto," Mac adds as he heads for the passenger's side door.

Jack turns a glare at his brother, his hand still covering his twin's mouth, "If they kill me, I'm blaming you."

\---

Jack drives them back to the hotel were Thornton was going over the information they already had.

The woman rises when Nick walks in and offers him her hand.

"Patricia Thornton," she smiles. "I'm Jack's boss. It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Stokes."

"Nick, please," the CSI smiles back pleasantly. "I take it he didn't tell you about me either? How did he manage that?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself," the woman turns a cool glare to Jack before letting the twin's hand go and returning to the files on the table.

Nick grabs hold of his brother's arm to whisper more carefully, "Do they all hate you now? Or...?"

"They could never hate me," Jack assures him with a cocky grin. Riley glares at them. "But I do see plenty of payback in my future."

"You didn't tell them about me to keep me safe," Nick states, doesn't ask. He already knows the answer before his brother nods.

"Mom, Dad, and the sibs too, but," Jack shrugs. "Mostly you."

The CSI's heart swells as his mouth smiles painfully large.

Jack rolls his eyes, "Don't get all mushy on me now, little brother. I've got a mission."

"If you two secret siblings are finished?" Riley crosses her arms as she stares at them. "We have a plan to form and a war to prevent."

"You guys are here to stop the fight between the DuChenka's and the Motelle's?" Nick asks, eyes widening. "There's no evidence to follow. No one saw where the girl went. She just up and disappeared."

"Come now, Nicky," Jack pats his brother on the shoulder. "That doesn't sound like you. Giving up so soon. Where's that Crime Stopper charm?"

"It helps when you have something to go on," the CSI points out yet again.

"Someone knows what happened to Luciella," Mac says. "We just have to figure out who and then we'll find the girl."

"Not that I'm not excited to be working with my annoying twin," Nick raises a hand to stop Jack from hitting him in the arm. "But why am I here?"

"Because you have my face," Jack points out. "If I go walking around the bad guy's domain, I don't want you walking in next to get shot at."

"You're not walking around the 'bad guy domain' either, Dalton," Thornton points out.

"What?" the man almost whines.

"Like you said," Mac smirks. "You have Nick's face. If you start something up with the crime families around here, once we leave..."

"They'll take one look at him and think it's you," Riley finishes. She winks at him, "Guess it isn't so much fun to have a secred double after all."

"You're going to have to let that go," Jack says with a point to the woman's face.

"Maybe," she shrugs. "Eventually."

"Alright," Thornton stands. "Mac and I will check out both families places and see if we can find any evidence that leads back to the girl. Davis, you hack into their system for assistance and see if you can get anything from their personal files."

"If they're half as safety conscious as other big, bad guys, I'll need to be close to their places."

"Very well, then you're with us," the team leader looks to Jack. "You two stay put here. I'll call if we need back up."

"Wait a minute," Jack starts to say as his team packs up to leave. "You dragged me all the way out here to nab my brother and lay low?"

"No," Thornton counters at the door before she opens it. "I was going to have you take point, but your personal situation required a plan change. One that has you taking your brother into protective custody until we solve this."

She walks out of the door, followed by Riley. Mac stops half way through to look back at his friend. 

"There's a western playing on channel sixty-six," the blonde offers before following the other two out.

 

Silence sits heavy in the room as Jack stares, opened mouth, at the closed door. Nick turns to his brother with pity.

"You know," Nick starts slowly. "They just don't want us in the line of fire. We could still go out to eat. I could show you the sights, maybe introduce you to my team. And we'd still be following your boss's orders."

Jack closes his mouth as he looks at his twin. Nick shrugs. His brother sighs.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me."

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

Warrick finishes filing the evidence, then goes straight to Grissom's office.

"Close the door if you're going to shout," the man states, eyes still on the papers littering his desk.

The CSI closes the door and the older man lifts his eyes off his work.

"Nick has a twin brother and you knew about it?" Warrick asks, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice. 

"Yes," Grissom states simply. He tilts his head, "Is there anything else?"

"Why?" the man pushes, leaning his fists against the other man's desk. "Why the secret? How come you're the only one who knows?"

"I'm not the only one," his boss counters evenly. "But that's beside the point. Nick didn't tell you, because you didn't need to know."

"Didn't need to know?" Warrick scoffs. "I know all about that guy's family. I met his parents during his kidnapping. I've stayed over at his place when I was too drunk to drive myself home. We trust each other to have the other's back, but I don't need to know he has a brother who looks exactly like him?"

Grissom removes his glasses slowly, placing them atop the papers before interlacing his fingers to rest them against the papers.

"Do you believe that Jack is really Internal Affairs?"

"Not for a minute."

"Then can you surmise, pulling from your own imagination, why a man who's existence was kept secret, might lie to you?"

Warrick leans back, realization dawning at him as he eyes the older man.

"Jack's some sort of secret agent or something?"

Grissom puts his glasses back on with a small smirk.

"If you've completed your work, I'll see you next shift."

It's all the answer he's going to get and the CSI knows it. He shakes his head at the man in front of him as he goes back to the door.

"You can keep it open when you go," Grissom states idly as he turns a page.

Warrick drops the handle with a roll of his eyes as he walks down the hallway.

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

Nick and Jack walk out of the diner, talking and laughing about the latest subject they were on, when Warrick happens to pull into the parking lot.

"Hey, man," Nick greets his friend as he gets out. "How did the case go? Was I right about the fibers being dyed?"

"Yeah, you were right," Warrick narrows his eyes at Jack before turning a more open look to his friend. "You taking your secret brother to all the fancy places I see."

"Hey, uh," Jack steps in with a friendly smile before his brother can answer. "I can understand how you'd be a little upset about Nicky not telling you about me-"

"I'm beyond 'a little upset', buddy," the CSI cuts in with a sarcastic huff.

"But," the agent pushes through. "It's not Nick's fault. Okay? I told him to keep me on the down low. He's not allowed to talk about me. It's to keep the both of us safe. Alright?"

"Is that so?" Warrick crosses his arms over his chest as he looks down at the twins. "Being an AI is really that dangerous, Jack? What's gonna happen? Some dirty cop you busted gonna come after him because you have the same face?"

"This isn't gonna be pretty," Jack remarks with a sigh as he rests his hands on his hips.

"Warrick," Nick steps in this time. "Listen to me, if I could tell you everything, I would. But things are a little crazy in my family. Jack was in special forces, deep cover crap we read about in conspiracy magazines. It was easier to just not talk about him, rather than make stuff up when he didn't show for important events."

"After your fourth Christmas away from home," Jack shrugs. "The parents stop expecting you to come."

"Alright," Warrick nods, letting his shoulders relax with the explanation even though he only partly believed what he was being told. "I guess it doesn't really matter now. Would've been worse if I never met the guy, right?"

Jack laughs while Nick makes a face of uncertainty.

"Guess you're just gonna hafta decide that for yourself," the agent smirks. He gestures back to the diner, "You eat yet? We did, but brother buzz-kill didn't let me get any dessert."

"I let you have dessert," Nick replies angrily. "You wanted seconds! You're gonna get fat, then how will you show your face when the suspect out runs you?"

"Funny story about running suspects," Jack remarks as the men walk into the establishment. "Me and Mac, he was that blonde guy you met, Warrick. Anyway, me and Mac were chasing this guy through some storage containers..."

\---

Catherine stops at the diner to grab a cup of coffee before heading into work when she does a double take at one of the booths.

The strawberry blonde walks over to where three men, two of them being her coworkers, are laughing it up.

"And I begged him to let me shoot him, but NO!" the one that looked like Nick before his recent buzzed head was saying, face red as he laughed. The man stops his story to look at the woman. "Hey there, pretty lady. Can I help you with something?"

Nick and Warrick turn, not having noticed the woman where they were sitting at the booth. Nick smiles as Warrick stands to get out of the way.

"Uh, is it just me or are there two of you, Nicky?" Catherine points between Nick and Jack. She looks at Warrick, "There are two of them, right?"

"Yeah," the darker skinned man nods, grateful to see the look of shock on someone else's face. 

"I'm Jack," Jack offers the woman his hand. "You must be Momma Bear."

"Momma Bear?" Catherine's voice rises in added surprise as she shakes hands with her friend's double. She looks to Nick for a reason behind the nickname.

"Jack tends to give out nicknames when he feels insecure about his placement in my life," Nick explains with a dramatic shrug.

"That made absolutely no sense, little brother," Jack glares at his twin. "I know my place in our family. It's firmly in front of yours."

"Fourteen seconds, Jack," Nick reminds him. "Not years, not hours, not even minutes. Seconds."

"Okay, I'm lost," Catherine takes a seat next to Nick at the booth. Jack slides over so Warrick can sit down again as well. The woman points to Jack, "You and Nicky," she points to the CSI, "Are clearly twins."

The brothers nod.

"And you kept this from me because?" the red head smacks her friend's arm. Warrick smiles as the man blushes.

"Geeze, your friends are hard core," Jack notes as his brother rubs his injury. 

"It appears Jack's identity is supposed to be top secret," Warrick states dryly when neither brother offers up an answer to the woman's question. 

"Is that so?" Catherine laughs. "What are you? Secret Service? FBI? CIA?"

"A little bit of everything," Jack shrugs. "But you can't tell a soul."

"Hey, wait a minute," Nick suddenly straitens in his seat. "Catherine's father is Sam Braun. He might know a thing or two about Liciella's disappearance."

"Who?" the woman repeats, a new layer of confusion being added to her life.

"Is that the same Sam Braun who owns all them casinos and has unconfirmed connections with organized crime?" Jack asks his brother. Nick nods.

"Excuse me," Catherine waves her hands at the brothers. "Don't talk about me like I'm not in the room if you expect to use me to get to my estranged father."

"Oh, no," the agent's eyebrows rise, "she purposely used the word 'estranged'. Does that mean you won't help me with my little ole case, Miss Catherine?"

"Hold the miss, Mr. Suave," the woman says with a bit of a bite. The agent lifts his hands in surrender while the two CSIs hide their smiles behind their hands. She glares at her   
coworkers, "You think this is funny? I walk in looking for a decent cup of coffee but I end up with three jokers."

"I am truly, truly sorry Catherine," Jack raise a hand to get the waitress's attention. The woman walks over with a smile. "Could you please get this lovely woman a coffee?"

"Cream, no sugar," Catherine adds, the waitress nods and walks off to get the drink.

 

Jack waits until the woman has taken her first sip of the brew before speaking again.

"Now...About your father."

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

Thornton meets up with Mac at the van where Riley was working on her laptop.

"You get anything?" the head of the group asks.

Mac shakes his head, "Nothing. No one's talking. You?"

"I came up empty as well," Thornton looks to Riley, "What did you dig up?"

"Other than a disturbing amount of porn?" the techie winces at the memory as she pulls her eyes away from her screen. "I got zip. These guys are either really good, or no one knows anything."

"We need to consider a third party then," Thornton says with a nod, mind already reeling with possibilities.

"Who would gain the most if a crime war started?" Riley asks the obvious question.

"Weapons dealers?" Mac guesses as he runs a hand through his hair. "Another family trying to get a foot in the door?"

"Or someone with a grudge," Thornton finishes off the vague list. "We need to chase down all those possibilities and see if we can place an exact name."

Mac pulls out his phone and frowns when there's no missed message displayed.

"Do either of you think that Jack taking the side lines feels a little too easy?"

"It does seem to go against his natural need to cause mayhem," Riley comments.

"He's just following orders," Thornton says confidently, even though her eyes betray her trust in the man. "We can't worry about him, and wrap this up quickly. We have to expect him to do his job, while we do ours."

"Right," Riley huffs a light laugh as she returns to her computer. "Because Jack's really good about being open and honest about things, we can trust him to be doing the right thing right now."

"He might not have told us about his brother, but that doesn't make him a liar," Mac defends their friend. "We can't say that we wouldn't do the same thing if we were in his shoes."

The two women exchange looks that tell the blonde more than any words they could say.

Jack was already forgiven. 

They just had to wrap the mission up so they could enjoy a new part of their friend they didn't know they were missing out on.

Riley smirks as she continues to type away, "I'm still going to make him feel bad about it. Guilt material like this doesn't come by every day."

The other two nod their consent and approval. 

Friends gave friends a hard time about lots of things. It's what they do.

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

To say Sam Braun is surprised to see his daughter walking into his casino is an understatement. His eyebrows rise at the small pose the woman has behind her as she stops at the bar her father is leaning against.

"Hey, Sam," Catherine smiles at the man. She turns slightly to motion to her friends. "You've met a few of my colleagues, right? This is Warrick, Nick, and his brother Jack."

"Nice to meet you fellas," the man nods to each in turn before returning his focus to his daughter. "Are they your back-up, or the reason why you've come to visit your old man?"

"That depends on your answer, Dad," Catherine smiles when she sees the pleased look on the older man's face. "You see, Jack's looking for information on a girl named Luciella DuChenka. We were wondering if you knew anything."

"Ah," Sam nods his head. He taps a finger on the bar and the bartender pours him a shot of whisky. "So you heard about that little squabble the families are getting ready to resolve in less than peaceful ways?"

"Mr. Braun, sir," Jack steps forward with a broad smile. Catherine steps back to give the man room to approach her father. "First off, I wanna say how much I appreciate what you did for my brother. I know you did it more for your gorgeous daughter's sake than his, but it still counts as something honorable in my book."

"Got a real silver tongued one here, Cathy," Sam remarks amused after downing his drink. He turns to rest his elbows against the bar as he looks the agent over. "Okay, I'll bite. Why are you so interested in finding the young DuChenka girl? Don't you know messing with crime families is a dangerous game?"

"Sir, yes, sir," Jack's smiles turns to something serious. "But I also know that pretty little girls shouldn't have to suffer because of what their fathers have done. Now, I don't really know Luciella. She could have her daddy's heart for crime, but I'm willing to risk my life to make sure she has the chance to make that decision for herself."

Something in what the agent says strikes a chord in the other man. Sam turns back to the bartender and gets a refill that he immediately downs.

Nick looks worriedly between Catherine and his twin, wondering if he should try and say something next. Warrick is equally lost for what to do, standing next to his friend, at a loss for words.

"Okay," Sam nods, clasping a hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'll tell you what I know and you'll owe me one for it. Deal?"

"Sam-" Catherine starts to object but Jack interrupts her with a, "You got it."

"Follow me everyone," Sam pushes off the bar and starts walking towards the casino entrance. "Nothing like a little road trip to bring people together."

Jack winks back at the others as he follows the older man.

"You're brother sure is something," Catherine offers Nick lowly from where she was following from a few steps behind the man and her father.

"Yeah," Warrick huffs with a smirk. "Something."

Nick just takes it in stride as they all exit the building.

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

"I think I got something," Riley calls out to her teammates over the comms. "It looks like the Motelle family has had possible business transactions with a 'Sam Braun'."

"And, how does that help us?" Thornton prompts the younger woman.

"Sam Braun is the biological father of Catherine Willows, who is a coworker of Nick Stokes."

"So Jack's brother's friend's dad might be able to give us a lead on Luciella?" Mac wraps up their thoughts in one long question.

"Yeah," Riley makes a face that resembles pain. "What are the betting odds that Jack isn't somehow already involved in this lead and heading straight for danger without us?"

Mac's phone rings. The caller ID says it's Jack, "Save your money. I already know the answer."

The blonde agent answers the phone, "Jack?"

"Mac!" the man says happily from the other end of the line. "You will not believe the good luck streak I am on, man. All the coincidences are lining up like fan girls for a pop concert. I'm heading to meet this guy that Sam set us up with who might be able to give me a lead on our girl. I'm gonna text you the address as soon as I hang up."

"You're supposed to be lying low in the hotel with your brother," Mac points out, purposely allowing his voice to scold the older man.

"If I had done that we wouldn't have this lead right now, Mac," Jack says with no signs of regret at all. "The fact of the matter now is that we're heading there and I assumed you and the team would want to join us. I mean, I think Nick's guys can handle it if you're not interested."

"You have civilians assisting you on a mission?" the blonde snaps. "Are you out of your mind? Jack! What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that your ungrateful tone is hurtful and that our friendship is in dire straights," the man half jokes. His voice sobers as he says, "Listen, Mac. I need you Patty and Ri there for my backup. I love my brother and I trust his friends, but I need people I can count on beyond that with me. So will you let me hang up so I can send you the address?"

Mac huffs out an aggravated sigh, "Yeah, fine! But you are in deep trouble-"

Jack hangs up before the blonde can finish. The device in Mac's hand beeps a few moments later with the address.

"Did I overhear you right and Jack is heading straight for danger with a bunch of lab geeks?" Riley asks worriedly.

"They're not geeks, they're Crime Scene Investigators," Mac says automatically as he head for his car. "And...Yes, he is. I'm sending you the address."

Thornton's voice is low and hard to hear over the comms, but both Mac and Riley could tell the woman was swearing.

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

"Thomas Hue is an accountant for both families," Sam states as he parks the car at a road that lead to a mansion protected by a white wall and black gates, as well as guarded by armed men. "He's a little paranoid."

"If that's a little, I don't want to see a lot," Nick comments as he looks the place over.

"I think this is where I exit and y'all head back to your everyday lives," Jack says as he pockets his cell. 

Nick puts a hand on his twin's shoulder, "Are you kidding me?"

"Nick," Catherine speaks up, "We don't have any evidence that gives us the right to search this man's residence. Unless he wants to talk to us, which I doubt he will, there's nothing that will legally get us through that door."

"I can get you in."

All eyes turn to Sam. He winks at his daughter.

"Thomas is a friend. He'll tell me the truth if I ask nicely."

"Great," Jack smiles. "Sam and I will go in, talk to Mr. Hue, and you three keep watch outside for when my team arrives. You can tell them what's happening."

"I'm coming with you," Nick states firmly.

"No, you're not," his twin counters with a hard glare. His eyes soften when it doesn't have the desired affect on his brother. "Look, we're just going to talk to the guy. I'm not looking for a fight and I doubt Mr. Braun here wants to be involved in one either."

"I'm against violence," the older man says with raised hands. His daughter huffs in disbelief.

"Just stay here and hold down the fort. Okay, little brother?"

Nick falls back into his seat and nods his head.

"Great," Jack smiles at the others. "We won't be long."

Sam leads Jack to the gate where they're searched before taken through and lead up to the mansion.

 

"So..." Catherine looks over to Nick with an open expression. "What else can you tell me about your twin? Is he single?"

Her coworker groans as Warrick stifles a laugh.

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

When the Phoenix team arrives at the address, they park their car right behind the vehicle with their teammate's twin inside.

Mac goes in the driver's seat while Riley takes the passenger's, Thornton remains in her team's vehicle.

"Where's Jack?" Riley asks first.

"In the house with my father," Catherine answers. She looks between the two. "Aren't you guys a little young to be running around doing secret mission things?"

"What exactly has Jack been telling you?" Mac wonders with genuine curiosity. It wasn't like his friend and teammate to run at the mouth about his real job.

"Not much, which is telling enough," the woman smiles. "I'm Catherine Willows, by the way. And you are?"

"I'm Mac," the blonde points to himself. He gestures to the woman at his side, "This is Riley." He jerks his thumb towards the house, "Who lives there and how long have Jack and your Dad been inside?"

"Thomas Hue," Catherine answers.

"And almost twenty minutes," Nick offers the second answer. He frowns as he looks up from his watch. "That's a long time for someone who was only going to ask some questions."

"Jack has a talent for making things complicated," Riley states drying.

Gunshots start going off from the mansion behind them, making everyone duck down low as they try to see what was happening at the same time.

"Way to prove my point, Jack," Riley growls as she peeks out over the dashboard.

Jack is firing back at an unseen enemy as he pushes Sam in front of himself and towards the front gate. The guards at the gate raise their weapons as the two approach and it's then that Sam's car comes to life.

"Mac?" Riley looks to her friend as he adjusts in his seat to get at the gear shift. "What are you doing?"

"Saving Jack from his own stupidity," the blonde remarks, switching the vehicle to the 'Drive' position. "Hold on tight everyone!"

Mac drives towards the men with the guns at top speed as the CSIs in the back shout out in surprise and huddle together in the back. 

The agent hits the two guard, sending them flying towards the ground, then he slams the car into 'Park' and dashes out to the control panel for the still closed gate.

"Hey, Mac!" Jack greets as he reaches the gate. He pushes Sam down as he fires off two more shots towards the house. "Fancy meeting you here."

"There are so many things I want to yell at you about right now, Jack," Mac growls as he uses his pocket knife to get to the wires of the panel. 

"You can shout at me all you want," his teammate assures him, firing three more shots to accentuate his words. "But ya gotta get me on your side of the fence first, buddy."

"Got it!" Mac puts the wires together and the gate opens. He runs back to the driver's side of the car. "Get in!"

Even though there isn't room for them, Jack shoves Sam in the back before taking a seat in Riley's lap.

"Riley!" the man smiles at her as Mac takes off in the care once more.

The techie slaps him in the face.

"I deserved that."

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

Back at the hotel, the entire group heads up to the room.

"I've got four missed calls from Ecklie wondering why I missed my shift," Catherine announces with annoyance as she glances at her phone.

"Right!" Nick smacks his forehead. "I completely forgot you were heading in when we met you at the diner. I'll take the blame for this, Cath. You don't have to deal with the Grouch King."

"Thanks, Nicky," the woman smiles at her coworker. "But I doubt you could come up with a good enough reason for me to be able to blame you with.

As the CSI team talks, Thornton drags Jack by the elbow to the other side of the room.

"You are benched from this moment on and I expect you to follow the order this time," she snaps at the man. 

Jack nods his head, looking the scolded child he felt as his teammates glare at him anew.

"Walking into a dangerous situation alone is dangerous," Thornton continues. "But to involve civilians? That's a whole new level of foolishness. I expected more from you, Dalton."

"I know," Jack keeps his head down, unable to look his friends in the eye. "It was in the moment but unprofessional. I didn't know the area or the contact...I should have waited. I'm sorry."

The quiet words and hunched in shoulders has the other three members of Phoenix relaxing their glares and looking amongst themselves.

"We just know how bad you'd feel if you got your brother or one of his friends hurt," Mac points out without any heat. "Clearly, being with Nick has brought out your more...encourage able side. What did you learn from Thomas Hue?"

"Ah, well," Jack smirks, even though his head is still bowed. "The girl did a Juliet on her parents. The Montelle's have this foreign kid they adopted that she supposedly fell for. Thomas made it possible for the love birds to leave the country."

"If that's all, then why did they start shooting at you?" Riley wonders.

Jack finally raises his head to look seriously at his teammates, "That was the start of the war. Neither family was aware that they were using the same guy to do their money laundry. When they found out, both sent a crew to collect the man. You saw how that turned out."

"We've got to track down Luciella and fast," Thornton says as she looks to Riley, "Can you check all transports out of the country from this state and those close by? I doubt two teenagers would have the patience to go very far before trying to head for their tropical getaway."

"On it," the techie nods, already moving to her laptop.

 

Sam walks over to Thornton.

"Not that this hasn't been 'fun'," the man laughs as he swipes his hand over the back of his neck. "But I think it's time for me to take my leave."

"I'm not so sure that would be the wisest decision, Mr. Braun," the team leaders says.

The older man shakes his head, "I've had my fair share of brushes with death, young lady. I can handle myself. I've got people to protect me." He looks to Jack and offers him his hand, "Thanks for saving me back there, kid. Guess we're even now."

"Safe travels, Mr. Braun," Jack shakes the hand firmly before letting go.

Sam kisses his daughter on the forehead before walking out of the hotel room. 

 

The CSIs approach the agents as a group.

"So," Warrick draws out the word as he puts his hands in his back pockets. "I guess we should be heading out as well? No use in us hanging around and getting in your way."

"Yeah," Catherine nods with confused and narrowed eyes. "Whatever it is you're doing is clearly going to take up all your energy. No point in spreading out your small group to watch over us. I, actually, have to get to work anyway."

"I'll take them," Jack offers as he looks at his boss for approval.

Thornton only takes a moment to think it over before nodding. She grabs hold of her agent's arm before he can move, though, "No more idiotic heroics. You got that?"

"Got it," Jack nods. "I'm all heroed out for the day."

 

"It was nice meeting you all," Catherine waves to the group as they head to the door.

"Be safe guys," Mac waves back.

"And don't let Jack be an idiot before I give him a proper beat down," Riley comments, her focus on her computer.

The two CSIs look at their friend's double. Warrick sarcastically comments, "You have such nice friends, Jack."

"Thanks, Ricky," the agent replies easily as he opens the door for everyone. "They've grown on me. I think I'll keep 'em."

As the door closes on the leaving party, Riley's voice calls out, "Can't say the same about you!"

\--- 

Nick volunteers to drive, since he knew the area better than his brother, so the agent just tosses him the keys and takes the passenger's side.

Warrick sits in the back, opposite Jack, while Catherine sits beside him.

 

Once they're far from the hotel, Catherine reaches up and smacks Jack hard in across the back of the head.

"What was that for?" the agent pouts as he rubs at his injury.

"What the heck have you dragged us into, Jack?" the woman demands instead of answers. "You know we just drove away from a crime scene, right? If there were any security cameras in the area they might've caught one of us on film and how do you expect us to explain what we barely understand ourselves?"

"A missing person's case seems simple enough to me," Jack remarks defensively. He flinches when Catherine raises her hand to hit him again. "Okay! Relax, Momma Bear. There weren't any cameras that didn't belong to Mr. Hue and my team can take care of those if they caught anything incriminating."

"I can't believe it," the woman falls back, feeling suddenly exhausted. "You just admitted to intent to tamper with evidence. That's three strikes against you, Jack! Being involved in a shooting, fleeing the shooting, and intent to tamper with evidence!"

"Only if I need to and it's not like I'm personally going to do it," Jack turns as best he can in the cramped space of his chair. "Why the third degree all the sudden? You weren't hounding me like this in the hotel. What gives?"

"I don't know who your friends are," Catherine narrows her eyes at the man. "So I don't trust them. But you're Nicky's brother, so I have to hope that you'd at least be concerned about him; making you trustworthy enough."

"I'm touched by your kind words," the agent offers the woman haughtily. He returns to a more comfortable position in his chair. "I will put your mind at east by saying, I love my brother and would do anything for said brother. I do not put Nick's life in danger willy-nilly and I expect you to do the same while he is staying here in Nevada."

"Are you implying something?" Warrick asks defensively.

"Is there something to imply?"

"Alright, that's enough," Nick pulls the car over and parks it. He turns to his passengers. "Jack is a great guy and I'm done talking about what happened because there's nothing we can do to change it. So let's just get ourselves back to the crime lab so Catherine can get Ecklie off her back and the world can resume its merry spin of 1,040 miles per hour."

The CSI waits a beat to quell any arguments with a hard look before changing gears and resuming his drive.

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

Greg Sanders is packing his kit and getting ready to head out for the shootout and dead body case. He just had to wait for Catherine to show before he could go so he was making sure they'd be ready to as soon as she arrived.

He pauses after clicking the case closed for the fourth time. It wasn't natural for his friend and boss to be late. Grissom wasn't forthcoming with a reason and Ecklie was his usual jerky self, fuming and blaming people instead of coming up with answers.

Brass was still securing the scene, so at least there wasn't a major rush to get there; not yet anyway.

As Greg wonders if he should have another bathroom break, just in case, he hears Catherine's familiar voice echoing towards him.

"You gonna stay at the lab for a while, Jack? Or do you and Nicky need to leave right away?"

'Jack?' Greg wonders as he heads towards the voice. 'Who was Jack? A friend of Catherine's? Nick's? Both?'

The voice that answers the woman has Greg's curiosity reaching new heights, "Nah, looking at Ricky boy over here, I think he'd like me more if I finally took him home."  
Greg blinked, then rubbed at his eyes and blinked again. Catherine was walking down the hallway towards him, which wasn't a big deal, she did that all the time. Nick and Warrick were with her, once again, not a big deal. But the man standing in between his boss and his best friend was the spitting image of Nick. The image was so strange that Greg briefly wondered if he'd been abducted and parts of his mind altered.

"Who's the gaping spike head?" the one who looked like Nick said as he looked at Greg.

"Greg Sanders," Nick says proudly, wrapping one arm around his friend's shoulders. "You okay there, Greggo? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"N-Nick," Greg clears his voice to gather his wits once more. "Am I hallucinating or is there another you standing between Warrick and Catherine?"

"I am the image of the Nick yet to be," Jack says with a put upon ghostly voice. He chuckles when the young CSI's eyes widen. "Just kidding, man. I'm Jack. Nick's brother."

"That nobody knew about, so don't ask," Warrick adds when it looks like that's exactly what his coworker was going to do.

"That's so awesome!" Greg smiles, reaching out to shake Jack's hand. "I've often wondered what it would be like to have a twin! Do you guys have a psychic connection or something? Do you both like the same things? What about music? Do you sing, Jack?"

"I like this friend," Jack smiles, pulling the younger man into his arms for a side hug. "He's so less judgey than those two," he nudges his head towards Catherine and Warrick.

"Nick doesn't talk a lot about his family," Greg supplies like an excited child who has all the answers to the teacher's test. "We've met his parents and I think one sister, but otherwise he only mentions them in passing."

"Greg is an only child," Nick says randomly, as if it will explain his friend's antics. "He does have an interesting backstory that involves underage driving though."

"Dude, no way," Jack gets excited about the idea. "How old were you? Ten, eleven?"

"Twelve."

"Nice."

Ecklie choses that moment to walk into the room. He only glances up from his phone long enough to level a sneer at Catherine.

"So nice of you to finally join us, Willows."

"That's no way to talk to a lady," Jack tells the man in a warning tone as he lets go of Greg.

"I don't have to take advice from you, Stokes," the man completely removes his attention from his device and the sneer vanishes as he looks between the twins. "Uh..."

"Jack," the man takes Ecklie's hand to give it a tight squeezed shake. "I don't come out these parts much."

"I need more caffeine to face this," Ecklie's color pales some more right before he turns tail and practically flees from the room.

"I think that's the fastest anyone's ever got him to leave a room," Catherine compliments the agent.

"It's the reverse Southern charm affect," Jack grins at the woman with a wink. "Can bring in horde of bees or chase away the cows."

Nick rolls his eyes as his friend's stare in confusion at his twin.

"Jack...Just....Stop."

\--- 

As Catherine and Greg go to the crime scene, Jack and Nick drop Warrick off at his house.

"I'd say it's been fun but," the darker skinned man shrugs.

"Hopefully my second impression on you will be better," Jack offers.

The CSI huffs a tired laugh as he steps away from the car, "Somehow, I doubt it."

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

Riley pulls up satellite photos of the shipping yard, Thornton and Mac on either side of the techie to see what they were working with.

"That's a lot of bad guys on any standard," Riley comments as she takes a silent head count. "Fourteen guys? Somebody doesn't want something to come or go."

"Luciella and her boyfriend were abducted at the airport and brought here," Thornton reminds her team of what they already discovered after looking over countless security footage reels. "They've got to be in one of those containers."

"Well, there's too much interference for me to get a heat signature," Riley remarks with frustration. "If we're gonna find them, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way."

"Knocking on doors and asking nicely?" Mac jokes.

"Careful, Mac," the techie counters. "You're starting to sound like Jack."

"Tread lightly guys," Thornton says, checking her weapon. "It's getting dark, so we'll have some cover. Let's try and find them without being noticed, if we can."

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

Jack and Nick return to the hotel. Mac, Thornton, and Riley are absent, so the brothers order room service and try to find something on TV to watch.

When they settle for a fuzzy channel showing the early seasons of 'The Price Is Right', Nick turns to his brother.

"Do you think you'll ever come to visit under normal circumstances?"

Jack turns his head to mirror his twin, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, just come over to my place to be there. No drama. No gunfights. No heartbreak. Just...Two brothers being together."

"Sure, little brother," Jack smiles as Nick rolls his eyes in annoyance. "How 'bout we have a BBQ at yours after this is all over? I can make my famous ribs and you can do the potato salad."

"Or I can do the burgers and your team can make the salad."

"Mac makes a mean casserole."

"Speaking of your team," Nick glances at his watch worriedly. "Should you be hearing from them soon? Do you guys do that? Check in with each other?"

Jack lifts a hand to shake it in a 'so-so' gesture, "Depends."

There's a knock on the door that's followed by a muffled, "Room service."

"Hope this place makes decent burgers," Jack comments as he gets up for the food. "And hopefully Thornton won't kill me for putting it on the room tab."

The smile on the agent's face vanishes when the waiter on the other side is pointing a gun at him. Two more men step around into view, also pointing weapon at the man.

"I don't think you have to worry about anyone else killing you, Mr. Jack," the guy on the right says with a deep voice.

"Do I know you?" Jack wonders, hoping his brother was hiding in the back room.

"I saw your face on the surveillance tape and tracked you back here," the man answers. He jerks his weapon away from the man, "Let's go."

"Alright," Jack raises his hands, letting the door close behind him as he steps forwards. The man on the left stops the door from completely closing and enters. "Wait a minute now-"

Jack's protest is silenced with a gun being jammed into his ribs.

"No need to make a scene, Mr. Jack," Right Goon comments under his breath as a woman exits her room to head to the elevator. Jack smiles at her and she blushes, dicking her head away and stepping in when the silver doors open.

"Got another one," Left Goon announces as he drags Nick to the doorway by his arm.

"Two for the price of one," Right Goon, who must be the leader with all his confidence, smiles at Jack. "He's got your eyes."

"Funny," the agent replies dryly, plans of escape already forming in his head. The waiter goon pushes the cart into the room and the three bed guys guide their captives towards the stairs. 

Waiter Goon goes first to check for people, then nods ot his companions before taking point. Left Goon nudges Nick just as Right Goon turns his head towards a noise of another door opening.

Jack makes his move.

The agent spins, snatching Right Goon's weapon and slamming it into Left Goon's gun wielding arm. He pushes Nick towards the stairs as he pulls Waiter Goon out then aims high to make the men cower before closing and locking the door.

"What are you doing?" Nick hisses, one foot on the next step as he stares with wide eyes at his brother.

"Keeping you safe right now," Jack answers without skipping a beat, grabbing his brother's arm to force him down the first few stairs before taking off down them as fast as he can. 

 

Two flights down, he opens the door and ushers his brother in.

He closes the door and ducks down with his twin in time to hear the door he locked get shot open. The three goons go barreling down the stairs after them, but they pass the twins without notice and Jack heaves a small sigh of relief before dragging his brother away from the door and towards the elevators.

"Jack, we have to call the police!" Nick tells his twin as he continues to click the 'down' arrow button. 

"Not on the menu of possibilities right now, little brother," Jack keeps hitting the button until the doors open. He smiles at the elderly couple and pushes the 'close doors' button before they're even full out. 

Nick's frown deepens as his brother starts violently hitting the 'lobby' button.

"What if they try to use the elevator too?" the CSI asks.

"Then I shoot them," his brother states like a fact. The elevator slows and the doors starts to open, but Jack clicks the 'close doors' button immediately and the machine fights with itself while two teenagers shout out in protest.

Jack starts to pretend to throw up and the teens stop protesting. The agent resumes his abuse of the 'lobby' button.

"At least it's a small hotel," Nick comments, noting they only had three floors to go. 

The brothers make it to the lobby and Jack pulls his twin behind a display as the three goons come out from the stairwell.

Right Goon scowls as he scans the faces, his two companions pathetically hiding their weapons in their jackets as they do the same. 

The goons eventually give up, Right Goon motioning to his men to follow him out of the building.

"Here's the plan," Jack whispers to his brother as he watchers their attackers leave. "I'm gonna follow them. You go back to the crime lab and wait there for me to come and get you. Do NOT go with anyone else. I don't care what they say."

"Fat chance of that happening, Jack," Nick follows his brother as he sneaks behind more lobby decorations to follow the trio out. The CSI hisses at his brother, "I'm staying with you!"

"You're not even packing," Jack argues back, sliding to the wall to glance around it to see the goons; they're heading to the parking garage. 

"You weren't either a minute ago," his brother points out. "That gun you're toting is probably connected to who knows how many crimes, by the way. I'm surprised the police haven't already been called in to this place. If they have, I don't want to be at the lab to be sent here to work a scene I was at."

Jack exits the hotel and ducks behind a wall as the goons enter the garage. He looks at his brother.

"Please, Nick. Just listen to me and do as I ask."

"No," his brother deadpans, eliciting a frustrated growl from his twin.

"Pig-headed-little-"

"You're no better you moron-"

"This is a waste of time-"

"Then let's stop arguing and start following."

Nick moves next, keeping low as he head to the parking garage. He turns to his brother, "Do you remember where you parked the car?"

Jack curses. His brother's brow furrows.

"Forgot the keys in the room."

"Really?!"

"I wasn't expecting someone to try and abduct me!"

"I thought being a spy meant you always thought someone was going to abduct you!"

"That's a really depressing way to live, Nicky."

A revving engine has the brother's focus turning back to their quarry. The goons are getting into their vehicle. In a few minutes, they'll be long gone and they won't be able to follow them.

"I can hotwire a car for us," Nick says, looking the closes vehicles over for the best target. He picks an rusting mini van and heads for it, Jack on his heels.

"How you gonna get into the car first, genius?" the agent whispers angrily.

Nick reaches up and opens the door slowly, sliding in as soon as there was room.

"What?" Jack shakes his head in disbelief as he follows his brother. "Lucky break."

"Did you look at this car?" Nick comments from under the steering wheel where he was removing wires. "It was in the perfect place for theft and looked on its last leg. The owner was practically begging someone to steal it so they could cash in on the insurance."

"You work with criminals too much," Jack grumbles as he peaks up to get a visual of the goons. Their targets' car was at the entrance to the garage and about to take a right. "Better hurry, Nicky. Bad guys are getting away."

"Almost..." the car comes to life and Nick quickly slides into position to drive. He clicks on his seat belt before putting the car in gear. As he nears the spot to exit he tells his brother, "Buckle up."

"Seriously, dude?"

"It's the law."

"Whatever," Jack buckles.

 

\--- - --- - --- - ---

 

The brothers follow the goons to a shipping yard. 

The sun is completely set, the harsh yellow of the yard lights making it look earie and silently demanding trespassers to get lost.

Nick stashes the van far enough away so the bad guys won't see it. Jack looks at the yard through his rear view mirror, a look of concentration wrinkling his face as he clenches his gun tightly in one hand.

"You gonna call your team, or should I call mine?" Nick offers quietly. 

"No warrant, no entry," Jack reminds his brother of what he already knew. "I can break all the rules because I have the fun job."

Jack pulls out his phone with a tired sigh and calls Mac.

It doesn't ring. It goes straight to voicemail.

Jack tries Thornton and Riley. He gets the same result.

"Crap," Jack looks back to the mirror. The goons are well inside the yard. The agent bites his lower lip, then comes up with a plan. "Okay, your team it is."

"I thought you said they couldn't help?"

"They can if they have probable cause," Jack says as he nods to his brother. "You got a cell on you?"

Nick checks for his phone. Thankfully, he has it and it's almost fully charged.

"Okay, I'm going in and it'll probably start a fire fight. You call in the Calvary and make sure it's your cop friend coming to the rescue, alright?"

"You seriously trying to ditch me again?"

"Nicky-"

"No, Jack," the CSI unbuckles to face his brother. "You and me or nothing. If you try and go without me, I'll just follow afterwards."

"I should have left you at the hotel."

"You couldn't and you know it."

"If you get hurt, those goons out there will be friendly Oompa Loompas in comparison to what our family is going to do to me."

"I've been through a lot too, Jack," Nick reminds him with heartfelt sincerity.

His brother sobers. "I know, Nick. And I hate that."

"Danger follows the Stokes brothers around like a bad penny," Nick grins, reaching out to pat his brother on the shoulder. "I'll watch your back, you watch mine. We'll get your people back and save that girl and her boyfriend."

"I don't even know if they're in there."

"If they aren't, I'll help you find them. The entire crime lab will be at your disposal."

"Thanks, Nick."

 

The CSI pushes a few buttons on his cell before lifting it to his ear.

"Jim Brass?" Nick smiles. "Yeah, it's Nick. Listen, there's some shady guys hanging out near a shipping yard and I think a fire fight's about to break out."

The 'younger' twin lets out a short laugh, "No, I'm not going to start it....No, it isn't a case I'm working on...Jim, trust me on this. I need you at the shipping yard. I'll message you the address so you go to the right one."

Nick listens with a dramatic eye roll before hanging up.

"He says not to be stupid and get shot."

"Sound advice."

"I'm still going with you, Jack."

The agent huffs out a tired breath, "Yeah...I figured as much."

\---

Jack takes the lead, Nick right behind him, as they keep to the shadows and sneak in through a hole in the fence.

They run from container to container, looking for signs of a scuffle or too many guys guarding one spot. 

A lucky break shaped as Riley's backpack has Jack grinning even though he still didn't' know the status of his team yet.

Nick leans closer to his brother to whisper, "Surprised the kid hasn't broken out of that container yet. I thought you said he could get out of anywhere."

"Don't sell my genius short so fast, little brother," Jack defends his friend just as quietly. "He might be out like a light, did you think of that?"

"Right, sorry," his brother apologizes as he looks behind them to make sure no one was sneaking towards them.

When the CSI turns back, his brother is gone. Nick curses as he looks around the container. Jack is sneaking up behind a man, gun in hand raised above his head. The hand swings down and the man falls, Jack catches him and drags him back to where his brother was fuming.

"Why'd you walk off?" Nick hisses as his brother checks the guy for weapons and keys. 

"Here," Jack takes the man's gloves off and hands them over.

"Gross," his brother grimaces.

"You need to keep your prints out of this," Jack points out, pushing the gloves closer. Nick takes them, putting them on quickly. The agents hands the CSI the gun next.

"You do know how to use these, right?" Jack asks with only a slight touch of worry.

"I've shot at my fair share of villains," Nick assures him. He looks down at the man. "What do we do about him?"

"Leave him for clean up," his brother ignores the man, going back to the container corner to size up his next target. He turns back to his twin. "Okay, three guys in a group. I take two, you get one."

"Unless I can two before you," the CSI jokes.

"It's a bet," Jack fist bumps his brother.

The agent takes a deep breath, then sneaks out of his spot; his twin following right after.

Jack takes down another man with a blow before he has to shoot one who raises his weapon at Nick. Nick gets his guy after landing two blows, one to the man's arm, the second to his head.

"Jack?" Riley's voice calls out from one of the containers. "Are you out there?"

"Keep it down, Riley," Jack warns her as he hears more men approaching. "Who's in wherever it is you are?"

A thump helps Nick zero in on the exact container and he looks the lock over.

"Mac's out cold in here," Thornton's voice speaks up. 

"And we've got the love birds," Riley adds. "They're no longer interested in eloping, by the way."

"It's not the best way to go," Jack says matter-of-factly, hitting a man right in the face as he turns the corner. He shoots the second one and slides out of the way when the third firs at him.

"Nick!" the agent looks over to his brother, heart in his throat. His brother looks up from the ground where he was sprawled and gives his brother a thumbs up.

"Jack?" a groggy, echoed version of Mac's voice wafts into the air.

"There's my boy," Jack grins, turning and shooting at the third guy. It takes three bullets, but he gets him. "You gonna get yourself outta there now, man? Or are you having too much fun napping?"

There's a shuffling of feet in the container and a deep groan.

"I'm not sure he's up to more than sitting at the moment," Riley comments without any confidence.

Nick looks around and grabs hold of the techie's backpack. "Riley, you got any heat sources in this backpack of yours?"

"What kind of heat source?" the woman counters.

"I dunno, a lighter? Yeah, that should be enough to work on this lock."

"What you got cooked up in that head of yours, little brother?" Jack fires to scare off the next group of guys. "Cause your cop buddy still isn't here and I'm not sure how long I can hold these guys off."

"Why do you say those things out loud, Jack?" Nick wonders as he rummages through the bag. He pulls out a swan tin foil. "Riley?"

"Outer pocket!" the girl suddenly answers louder than she needs to. "Sorry, I was trying to remember if I even packed it."

"What are you thinking?" Mac's voice rises, sounding much stronger than it did before and easing Jack's heartbeat a touch.

"Thermite," the CSI answers as he pulls out the lighter. "This lock is covered in rust. I just add a little aluminum to it, press them together," he grunts slightly as he tightly packs the aluminum around the lock. "and add heat."

"It creates an explosion so hot it'll burn through steel," Mac adds, sounding impressed.

"Explosion?" Jack repeats, sounding the exact opposite of his teammate. "Nicky, do NOT blow my team up!"

"We're going to stand on the other side of the container," Mac says. "The explosion is powerful but uncontrollable. The fire won't stop burning until it consumes both elements."

"I'm not hearing any reassurances that this is a safe thing to do!" Jack shouts as he shoots off four more rounds. "Mac! Can't you just get out of there with a can opener?"

"Maybe if I could see anything," the blonde agent says, sounding further away. He must have moved where he said he would.

"Jack, relax," Nick assures his brother as he starts the lights near the foil. "There isn't that much of either component to worry about. It'll burn away faster than you realize."

"Wait, Nick!" Mac's voice suddenly spikes in volume and fear. "Don't stand too close to the point of explosion! Use something like a fuse and get to a safe distance!"

Nick immediately pulls the lighter away and removes a glove. He sets the glove aflame, then walks over to his brother's side.

 

When the next group of goons comes, an explosion knocks them back on their feet.

Jack coughs as dirt goes through his nose and down his throat. Nick is lying on top of him and for a split second, Jack's heart ices in fear that his brother was hit.

Nick groans and the world starts turning normally again.

"You okay there, little brother?" Jack asks, patting his twin down to look for injuries.

"Good as gold," Nick coughs, raising a hand to wipe the grit out of his eyes. Sirens fill the air as the dust settles around them. The CSI pushes himself to his feet with another groan, but he steadfastly walks over to the container to knock what was left of the lock out of the loop holding the container closed. 

Mac comes out first, followed by Thornton and Riley. Two teenagers, huddled together as one held tightly to the other, follow shakily after the agents.

"Luciella?" Jack grins when the girls lifts her head up at the name. The agent gives her a lazy salute. "Nice to meet you."

The girls tries to nod, but it's just as shaky as the rest of her body.

 

The LVPD break into the shipping yard, flashlights blinding everyone as the officers point their guns and shout for everyone to get on the ground.

The Phoenix team and their recently rescued couple do as ordered and Brass stops in front of Nick to stare at him like it's the first time he's seen the man.

The police detective turns to look at Jack, then turns back to Nick, then back at Jack.

"Yes, we're twins. No, we didn't tell anyone. Yes, I do have a perfectly good explanation for this. No, I won't tell you without a lawyer present."

Jack smiles up at the man after his mini speech. "Name's Jack, by the way. Nice to meet you."

Jim shakes his head, "I'm getting too old for this."

\---

Clean up and processing goes smoothly, with Hodges and Sara being the last of the CSI team to be let in on the secret twin thing. Jack's charm wins them over as Thornton takes care of things for the team on her end.

"So you two live in separate states?" Sara asks as she handles Jack's processing; taking his gun, testing his clothes, taking pictures.

"Yeah," Jack brushes a few remaining clumps of dirt out of his hair. "Little brother here likes the Nevada dry desert heat. Heck if I know why."

"Are you apprised of your brother's work here in the city of sin?" Hodges asks. He didn't like to do field work, but when he heard it involved a coworker's secret double, he couldn't resist coming.

"Are you implying that my brother is a sinner?" Jack turns a hard look to the man.

"No! Oh, no-no," Hodges deflects nervously. "Nick's a saint among men."

"Stop it, you guys," Nick groans from where he was sitting on the back of the ambulance. He held an ice pack to the back of his head. Apparently, he had hit it when he went flying during the explosion. His head was pounding more and more as the adrenaline faded away. He just wanted to go home and sleep for a week.

But he knew better than to hope he could.

"How are you two feeling?" Thornton asks as she approaches, a new cell phone in her hands. The woman's clothes were a little askew, but otherwise she looked unharmed.

"Got a headache worse than my last hangover," Nick state simply, swinging his eyes closed tight to try and alleviate it for a moment. It doesn't work so he smiles at his brother's boss instead, "But I'll live. How 'bout you guys?"

"We're all fine, thanks to you," Thornton smiles at the CSI. "How did you know about the thermite?"

"Grisly Bear told you, didn't he?" Jack guesses with a toothy grin. Nick just nods tiredly.

"Grisly Bear?" Sara repeats with a laugh catching her off guard. "Who's that?"

"That would be me," Grissom states as he walks over to his wounded CSI. "You okay, Nick?"

"I need a nap, but yeah," the man nods his head slowly so it'll hurt less.

Grissom looks up at Thornton, "You handle things from your end?"

"Yes," the woman assures him. "Once your people are through with mine, we'll be taking Miss DuChenka and her affiliate home to her father."

"Wait, but-" Hodges starts to protest but Grissom shakes his head at the man, stopping him.

"That's fine by me," Grissom rubs a hand over Nick's shoulder briefly before addressing his other two CSIs. "You guys done yet?"

"Uh, yeah," Sara nods, resting her camera against her chest. She jerks her head towards the scene, "I'll get started on the scene now, shall I?"

"You shall," her boss nods.

Hodges opens his mouth as if to say something else, but decides against it at the last second and chases after his coworker instead.

"You've got a good team here, Mr. Grissom," Thornton compliments the man. 

"Thank you," the man offers her a small smile. "I'm sure you do as well. Nick will no doubt be filling the crime lab with tales of his brother's exploits and those of his extraordinary team."

"Hopefully not too much," the woman says pleasantly. 

Grissom seems to pick up the hidden meaning behind the simple phrase. He narrows his eyes ever so slightly as he answers, "Of course."

 

\--- - --- - --- - ---

 

The Phoenix team, with the assistance of the CSI team, soon learn that the teenage love birds were intercepted by a Motelle lieutenant who was trying to get his boss to fight his rival for years. The attempt at elopement was too much of an allure to the man and, instead of risking the kids chickening out at the last minute or returning once they learned about the fallout of their actions, he decided to make sure they stayed gone.

The Motelle family fervently apologized and the DuChenka's gracefully forgave them. Oddly enough, the resulting 'lowering of arms' ended with an engagement party for the two teens and a peaceful understanding to come between the two families.

\---

Not one mention of any of the Phoenix team members comes up in a report or in the news. The only ones who know about Nick's twin are his coworkers and those who were a part of the raid. Though, most of the latter didn't much care.

Thornton smiles when the CSI asks her about how things worked for them when it came to paperwork. 

Jack just slung an arm over his brother's shoulders and said, "You don't wanna know."

\--- - --- - --- - ---

 

"It's too bad Bozer couldn't be here for this," Mac muses aloud as he relaxes into the lawn chair next to Riley.

"Yeah," the techie nods, her eyes covered by heavily tinted sunglasses as she points her face towards the warm sun. "I feel bad about you telling him our plane was delayed due to snow on the air strip."

"Think of it this way," Jack offers as he stands in front of the two, an open beer in one hand. "It was delayed, snow-no one had to leave too early."

"That was terrible," Riley groans, lifting a hand to shade her eyes so she could look at the man easier. "Where's mine?"

"Did you ask me for one?"

"No, but I think I deserve it."

"Deserve it?" Jack laughs. "Why's that?"

"I haven't kept any secrets involving twin crime fighters from you."

"She's got you there," Nick comments as he joins the group. He's wearing an apron to guard his clothes and carrying two bottles of beer. He hands one to each of his brother's teammates.

"Thank you, Nick," Riley smiles up at him. She gives Jack a pointed look, "At least someone in your family has manners."

"I won't let our sisters know you said that," Jack remarks before taking a swig of beer.

"None of them are your twins too, right?"

"Don't be silly," Jack shakes his head. When the techie relaxes he adds, "That would make us triplets."

Riley kicks at him and misses by a mile when the man jumps away.

Greg and Warrick arrive at the same time, greeting Nick with a hug before joining the group by the man's twin.

"Y'all got the time off?" Jack smiles at them as they approach.

"Can't stay long," Greg says guiltily.

"I just got off shift," Warrick adds.

The spiky haired CSI finishes, "But we both wanted to give you guys a proper send off."

"How nice of you," Riley stands to shake hands with them. "Warrick I met, but who are you?"

"Greg," the CSI clears his throat when it goes a little too high. "You and Jack work together in AI?"

"Yeah," the techie nods. "I'm more of a supervisor to him, no matter what he says."

"Always a kidder," Jack smiles into his beer.

"Jack! Your ribs are gonna burn if you don't turn 'em!" Nick calls out to his brother.

"Duty calls," Jack smirks, rushing towards the grill.

The two CSIs follow the man with their eyes and shake their head at the same time when the brothers stand side-by-side.

"Is it just me or does that look weird?" Warrick asks as he turns his head away.

"You have no idea," Riley says as she bounced on her toes.

"We were just as surprised to learn Jack had a twin as I'm sure you were to learn about Nick's," Mac smiles as he stands, not wanting to seem stand-offish to his friend's brother's friends. He shakes his head of the thought. "I'm Mac, by the way."

"Greg, Warrick," Greg repeats unnecessarily. "How is Jack in the field? Is he the loose canon sort? I mean, how much danger do you guys normally run into working in Internal Affairs?"

"You'd be surprised," Mac laughs easily, thinking of all the close calls he had with Jack. "Jack's a great guy. I trust him with my life."

"Same here about Nick," Warrick adds.

"Well, isn't this a jovial party," Catherine says with plenty of sarcasm as she joins the group. She lifts the case of beer a little higher, "I brought a gift for the host."

"Momma Bear!" Jack shouts out from behind the grill, then he runs to her to take the case from her. "I'll put these in the fridge to get cold. You want one of ours?"

"Yes, please, Jack," the woman smiles at him in thanks.

The agent nods, then trots off to do just that.

Catherine looks around for the final member of Jack's team. Her eyes rest on Mac, "Where's Thornton?"

"She had to fly back without us," Mac answers sadly. He had tried to convince her to stay for the BBQ, but she wanted to get things straightened out with the higher up about everything that happened before something could be messed up or misunderstood. He couldn't really fault her for that.

"Pity," the strawberry blonde picks up on the dampened mood. "Gil Grissom couldn't, or I should say wouldn't, come either. On occasion, I think he's under the assumption the lab would fall apart without him."

"It very well might," Nick comments as he comes up behind his friend. He kisses Catherine on the cheek as a greeting. "I was tempted to roach insects for him but I didn't want to gross Jack's friends out when he actually partook."

Riley raises a hand, "Officially grossed out anyway."

Nick's laugh is contagious and Jack returns to the group confused about what he missed.

"I'd tell you, Jack," Riley tells him with a shark smile as she removes her glasses. "But I know how much you like secrets."

"Oh, for the love-" Jack throws his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry! Okay? Can you just drop it now?"

That sends the group into a new round of laughter at the agent's expense.

Jack eventually joins in.

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

**Author's Note:**

> This story fought me. There were so many options for every twist and turn, I had a hard time deciding.  
> I hope (at least part of it) is good for this Series fans! (And anyone else who read it, naturally.)
> 
> **I am legally inclined to state I own nothing.**


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